Elizabeth Madox Roberts
Elizabeth Madox Roberts (October 30, 1881 - March 13, 1941) was an American poet and novelist, known mainly for her novels and stories about the Kentucky mountain people. Life Roberts was born in Perryville, Kentucky. She was the second of eight children born to Mary Elizabth (Brent) and Simpson Roberts, a Confederate soldier turned engineer and a school teacher. Roberts grew up and spent most of her adult life in nearby Springfield, Kentucky, and attended high school in Covington, Kentucky. She enrolled briefly at the University of Kentucky (then the State College of Kentucky) in 1900, but was forced to drop out after one semester on account of her poor health. For the next ten years, Roberts taught elementary school in the Springfield area with her mother. In 1910 she went to live for several years with her sister in Colorado and it was here that she contributed several poems to a little book of photographs of mountain flowers which would become her first published work. (In the Great Steep's Garden, privately printed, 1915). On the recommendation of a professor friend, Roberts enrolled as a freshman at the University of Chicago at the age of 36 in 1917, avidly studying literature and philosophy and fulfilling a lifelong dream of acquiring a college education. At the University of Chicago, she joined the poetry club which included Glenway Wescott, Yvor Winters and Janet Lewis forming friendships and professional relationships which proved useful throughout her life. She graduated with honors in 1921 and was awarded the Fiske Prize for a group of poems she wrote which went on to be published as Under the Tree in 1922. After completing her education, Roberts returned to Springfield, Kentucky, where she would spend much of the rest of her life. The success of Under the Tree led Roberts to write her first novel, The Time of Man (1926), about the daughter of a Kentucky tenant farmer, which garnered her an international reputation. She went on to write several more successful and critically acclaimed novels throughout the 20s and 30s, including The Great Meadow (1930), a historical novel about the early settling of Kentucky, and A Buried Treasure about a rural Kentucky farm family who find a pot of gold. Roberts was diagnosed with terminal Hodgkin's disease]] in 1936. After this blow, Roberts began spending her winters in Florida; however, she always returned to Springfield for the warmer months as she considered Kentucky to be her true home. Roberts died in Orlando, Florida in 1941, and was returned home to Springfield for her burial. Writing All of her writings are characterized by her distinct, rhythmic prose. While she was a major influence on Robert Penn Warren and a contemporary of the Southern Renaissance writers, Roberts has been neglected by critics in recent years. Recognition Her public recognition was solidified by several major prizes she won toward the end of her life, including the John Reed Memorial Prize in 1928, an O. Henry Award in 1930, and the Poetry Society of South Carolina's prize in 1931. Publications Poetry *''In the Great Steep's Garden'' (illustrated by Kenneth Hartley). Colorado Springs, CO: Gowdy-Simmons, 1915. Novels *''The Time of Man: A novel''. New York: Viking, 1926. *''My Heart and My Flesh''. New York: Viking, 1927. *''Jingling in the Wind''. New York: Viking, 1928. *''The Great Meadow''. New York: Viking, 1930. *''A Buried Treasure''. New York: Viking, 1931. *''He Sent Forth a Raven''. New York: Viking, 1935. *''Black Is My True Love's Hair''. New York: Viking, 1938. *''Song in the Meadow''. New York: Viking, 1940. Short fiction *''The Haunted Mirror''. New York: Viking, 1932. *''Not by Strange Gods: Stories''. New York: Viking, 1941. Juvenile *''Under the Tree'' (verse). New York: B.W. Huebsch, 1922; **(illustrated by F.D. Bedford). New York: Viking, 1930; Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1985. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Elizabeth Madox Roberts, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Jan. 25, 2015. See also * List of U.S. poets References *''Elizabeth Madox Roberts'' in Notable American Women, Belknap Press, 2005 Notes External links ;Poems * "The Sky" *Roberts in Poetry: A magazine of verse, 1912-1922: "The Cornfield," "The Pilaster," "The Star," "Water Noises," "Crescent Moon," "Strange Tree," "A Child Asleep," "My Heart," "The Sky," "Numbers," "Autumn," "The People," "A Beautiful Lady," "August Night," *Elizabeth Madox Roberts at PoemHunter (54 poems) *Poems by Elizabeth Madox Roberts at Read Book Online ;Books *[http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/roberts/menu.html Full Text of Under the Tree] * *Elizabeth Madox Roberts at Amazon.com ;About * Elizabeth Madox Roberts at NNDB * Elizabeth Madox Roberts (1881-1941) at Georgetown University * Elizabeth Madox Roberts (1881-1941) in the Heath Anthology of American Literature *Elizabeth Madox Roberts 1880-1941 in the Children's Literature Review ;Etc. *Elizabeth Madox Roberts Society Official website. *Elizabeth Madox Roberts Society weblog Category:1881 births Category:1941 deaths Category:Deaths from lymphoma Category:American poets Category:American novelists Category:History of women in Kentucky Category:Writers from Kentucky Category:People from Boyle County, Kentucky Category:People from Washington County, Kentucky Category:University of Chicago alumni Category:Cancer deaths in Florida Category:20th-century poets Category:20th-century women writers Category:American women writers Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Women poets Category:Children's poets